The approval of the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline makes
it clearer than ever that BC is going to have to have to stand up for itself in
the face of a federal government willing to impose unwanted projects despite overwhelming
opposition – and the response of First Nations and British Columbians to the news
this week has shown an unwavering resolve and an inspirational source of hope
that we can win this fight.
Although Northern Gateway has now cleared another major
regulatory hurdle, a combination of First Nations legal challenges, a citizen push-back
that could range from a province-wide vote to civil disobedience, and (at least
currently) a strong ‘no’ from the Provincial government mean that the pipeline is
unlikely to ever be built.
When Enbridge first floated the proposal in 2005, no one
could have imagined how controversial it would become: at the time such
projects were usually nodded through without a great deal of interest. Now it’s
shaping up to be a defining issue for many BC communities and a top voting issue in the 2015 federal election.
The campaign to stop Northern Gateway has also built a broad
and strong coalition, and sparked a powerful citizen’s movement. We are
grateful to everyone who has worked so tirelessly for so long, especially First
Nations and non-indigenous communities on the front-lines in northern BC, and
we want you to know that we stand with you, and are inspired by your leadership
and resolve.
We are also grateful for the path that has been forged – the lessons learned and the alliances built – that those of us working on the south coast
are now following in our efforts to stop Kinder Morgan’s pipeline proposal. This
project too was once seen as a “slam-dunk”, and now struggles against
“overwhelming opposition” (to
quote the Financial Post, no less). Polls
are showing rising levels of concern, at least two legal challenges are
already underway, and the NEB’s review process has more people involved as
intervenors and commenters than any project in its history. In other words, the
Kinder Morgan pipeline is shaping up to be a battle royale too.
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Protect Our Sacred Waters rally, Vancouver, June 2014
Photo: Alexandra Woodsworth
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And for good reason. Kinder Morgan’s expansion poses the
same threats as Enbridge – an oil spill that could devastate our environment,
economy and coastal communities, and a yearly climate impact greater than the
combined annual emissions of 90 nations – and the same negligible benefits for
BC. Opponents of these projects aren’t NIMBYs. British Columbians don’t want
risky tar sands pipelines or tankers anywhere in our province – we want to go
in a different direction. Our
investments should help us transition away from fossil fuels, not tie us to more
resource extraction and increase our contribution to climate change.
In the days leading up to the Enbridge decision, Premier
Clark came under immense pressure to say ‘no’ to Enbridge, and it worked: the
province said Enbridge had not met their five conditions, and they would deny
permits if necessary. Those same five conditions apply to Kinder Morgan, and we
need to bring the same pressure to bear to ensure the province takes a strong
stand on the southern tar sands pipeline.
Compared to the JRP’s Enbridge hearings, the NEB’s Kinder
Morgan review has dramatically restricted public participation and speeded up
the timeline. And this week we learned just how brazenly the federal cabinet
ignored public concern expressed during the JRP. Together, this means we need
to work even harder to generate public pressure outside the formal review
process.
We need to talk to more people in our communities, make more
noise on the streets, raise more money for First Nations legal challenges, and
– whatever it means for each of us – step up to the next level of what we’re
willing to do to protect our coast and fight for a better future. Here’s a list
as some food for thought, and stay tuned for updates on our Save the Salish Sea page.
